20 October 2005 Edition

Action needed to end poverty - BY KATHY STANTON MLA

Poverty - As a major anti-poverty conference takes place in Belfast,
Kathy Stanton outlines the full extent of this needless human disaster

Daily there is further evidence of the true extent of poverty in Ireland and
across the world. Behind each statistic is the daily experience of families,
older people, lone parents and children — the most vulnerable in our
society, struggling against endemic poverty. Yet each and every response
from government has been completely inadequate. Tackling poverty will only
become a priority if people demand action. Poverty affects one in four
adults and one in three children in Ireland. It destroys lives, reduces the
human capacity to create and achieve and blights communities for
generations. It is present in every corner of our society.

Many faces of poverty

Poverty has many faces. Fuel poverty for example affects 203,000 households
or one third of homes across the North. The most vulnerable in our society —
older people, families with young children and people with disabilities
suffer most. Each year over 1,000 older people die because of cold weather.

Cold weather related ill-health costs over £30 million a year. A fraction of
this figure earmarked for the implementation of a Fuel Poverty Strategy
could begin to tackle fuel poverty and end the disgrace of preventable
deaths related to cold weather.

Over 50% of households containing people with disabilities are living with
poverty. This highlights the failure of government to address problems
created by weak legislation and enforcement.

Structural discrimination

It is unacceptable that 150,000 children in the North live in poverty and
half-a-million people live in poor households. Policy makers consistently
undermine the rights of those seeking full equality in our society.
Privilege has been the foundation stone of British rule in the Six Counties
and inequality the price of privilege. More than 35 years after the Civil
Rights Movement launched its campaign to highlight the nature of structural
discrimination in housing, voting and jobs these same issues remain at the
core of continued inequality. The challenge is to expose inequality and
ensure people's rights and entitlements are secured, regardless of class,
creed, nationality, ethnic origin, martial status, disability, religion, or
sexuality.

We need a genuine anti-poverty strategy that tackles low pay, the provision
of childcare, educational underachievement and the massive health
inequalities suffered by deprived communities.

Tax reform

There must be a vision for the eradication of poverty. This should include
reform of the tax system to increase overall tax take, social spending and
infrastructural development. It is not right that every year hundreds of
millionaires and thousands of high earners pay no income tax at all. In a
world of increasing wealth it is wrong that each week thousands of children
die from starvation or ill health. Yet, if the money being used by
developing nations to pay back debt were channelled into health and
education the lives of millions of children every year could be saved.

To effectively tackle poverty and hunger we have to understand the context
in which they occur and the policies that create this human disaster. It is
not acceptable that economic super powers impose a free trade agenda that
hurts the developing world. Instead organisations such as the EU must use
their considerable economic power responsibly by pursuing policies that
eradicate exploitative trade relationships that prevent the developing world
from establishing independent sustainable economies.

Major Anti-Poverty Conference in Belfast

A major, international anti-poverty conference organised by Sinn Féin, takes
place this week in Belfast involving over 1,000 groups, agencies and
individuals from throughout Ireland.

Speaking ahead of the event Sinn Féin MLA Kathy Stanton said: "Make no
mistake poverty kills. Every day the gap between rich and the poor gets
greater. Every week thousands die and have their lives blighted by poverty.
It is not that we lack the resources to eradicate poverty. The truth is that
there is no political will to make the eradication of poverty a priority. We
need to make it a priority."

Stanton said the purpose of the conference is to develop an effective and
integral anti-poverty campaigning policy. "Essentially we want to
demonstrate how relevant the global campaign against poverty is to the local
battles that we face."

An Phoblacht Magazine

AN PHOBLACHT MAGAZINE:

Don't miss your chance to get the second edition of the 2019 magazine, published to coincide with Easter Week

This special edition which focuses on Irish Unity, features articles by Pearse Doherty, Dr Thomas Paul and Martina Anderson.

Pearse sets out the argument for an United Ireland Economy whilst Pat Sheehan makes the case for a universally free all-island health service.

Other articles include, ‘Ceist teanga in Éirinn Aontaithe’, ‘Getting to a new Ireland’ and ‘Ireland 1918-22: The people’s revolution’.